


a little equilibrium

by Marishna



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Gen, Pizza, Snark, begrudging respect, diner, not quite friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-04
Updated: 2013-08-04
Packaged: 2017-12-22 09:18:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/911527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marishna/pseuds/Marishna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What’s this?” Cora asked as Stiles parked the Jeep.</p>
<p>“The best damn pizza in Beacon Hills,” Stiles replied as he unbuckled his seat belt.</p>
<p>Cora stared at the run down building in front of them with the flickering outside lights and wrinkled her nose.  “You sure?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	a little equilibrium

**Author's Note:**

> This is my submission for week #8 of Keysmashblog's "This Might Help" challenge.

“What’s this?” Cora asked as Stiles parked the Jeep.

“The best damn pizza in Beacon Hills,” Stiles replied as he unbuckled his seat belt.

Cora stared at the run down building in front of them with the flickering outside lights and wrinkled her nose. “You sure?”

“You didn’t _have_ to come, you know. And I don’t actually remember inviting you so if you have a problem you can run back home.” Stiles snapped at her before jumping (literally) out of the Jeep and slamming the door behind him.

Cora followed suit, although much more gracefully and with less slamming and caught up to him at the door to the shop.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Yes you did,” Stiles replied with a shrug. He opened the door and let her go through first like a gentleman, though.

Once inside Cora could see that it wasn’t as bad inside. Moderately. It was run down, sure, but the smell wafting from the kitchen was heavenly, she had to admit. 

They sat in one of the booths with red vinyl seats that were cracked everywhere and sank down from years of use but were comfortable as hell. They ordered, a pie for each of them because Cora was a werewolf and Stiles was a teenage boy thanks. 

Then the silence.

Stiles started drumming his fingers on the table and tapping his foot on the floor, fighting the urge to whip out his phone to text Scott or Lydia or Allison or, hell, his Dad to see if anyone wanted to join them. Anything to lessen the creeping awkwardness.

“Stop it,” Cora snarled, lunging across the table to cover Stiles’ hand with both of hers while her feet snapped down on his underneath.

“Ow!” Stiles cried, trying to jerk his hand away. Cora winced and pulled back quickly. 

“Sorry. Just... don’t.”

 “ _I’m_ sorry, your highness,” Stiles grumbled, shaking his hand a bit but he stopped tapping.

More silence. 

Their pizzas came and it was the best thing to ever happen to Stiles. The faster he could eat the faster they could get the hell out of there and he could escape.

The sounds of chewing filled the space between them and Stiles relaxed. He could do quiet. He could do calm and silence. 

“So,” he said.

Dammit.

“Why do you do it?” Cora asked suddenly, staring at him over top of a slice.

“Do what?” 

“Get involved in this.”

“Werewolves, you mean?” Stiles clarified and Cora nodded. “I kind of have to.”

“No you don’t,” Cora said, shaking her head. “You could walk away.”

“Yeah, I _could_ but I won’t.”

“Why?”

Stiles sighed and put his own pizza slice down. “I got Scott mixed up in all this, okay?” Cora’s eyebrows raised, so eerily similar to her brother, and Stiles continued. “I dragged Scott out the night he got bit by Peter. If I hadn’t been so set on finding the body- er. Sorry, it was Laura we were trying to find. Didn’t know it at the time. But I made him come with me because I wanted to see it. Her. Although if I knew it was her at the time I wouldn’t have wanted to. If I realized she had a name. Anyway,” Stiles continued while shaking his head. “I put him in that situation and he was turned because of me.”

“So you’re involved because of him?” Cora asked slowly, as if trying to understand the information. 

“Well yeah. We’re buds. Everything else just came on like an avalanche. My other friends started getting involved. Which is also kind of my fault, I guess,” Stiles finished.

Cora was quiet for a while, eating a whole slice in the meantime. 

“Why do you care about my brother, then?” 

Stiles blinked. “What?”

“Why did you spend all that time tonight with my uncle who all of us _know_ you can’t stand, just to find out about Derek? Why do you care?”

It was Stiles’ turn to be quiet then. He thought about the best way to explain but he wasn’t sure himself. Finally he blurted out, “Because for a long time no one else did. And if I can help him maybe he’ll be able to protect everyone else.”

“Not you?”

“Me? Ha! I’ve survived this long,” Stiles replied with false bravado. Cora eyed him knowingly but didn’t say anything.

They finished their pizzas in silence, paid and headed back into the night so Stiles could drive Cora back to the loft.

“Y’know, Stilinski?” Cora asked as Stiles pulled up in front of her building.

“What?”

“You’re not so bad,” she admitted, a touch of admiration in her begrudging tone.

“Oh, thank god. I’ve been _waiting_ to get your approval for ages now!” Stiles replied sarcastically.

“And then you make me want to punch you in the face,” Cora sighed. “Why do they keep you around again?”

“Sometimes I’m not sure,” he said seriously.

Cora rolled her eyes and opened her door. “Shut up. I am. Don’t make me regret this again: you’re not so bad.” She slid out of the Jeep and shut the door behind her, walked into the building without a backwards glance.

Stiles sat in his running vehicle, stunned, for a minute after she disappeared inside before murmuring, “Thanks.”


End file.
